The City of Homer Public Works Department is overseeing two big projects at Bishop’s beach.
Wednesday, crews began relocating the outlet of Beluga Slough east of the beach parking lot.
City officials said in an email to KBBI that the work has been approved by the Army Corps of Engineers and is being coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which owns the land.
Steve Delehanty is the Refuge Manager with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in Homer. He says Beluga Slough Channel is being moved about a quarter of a mile to the west.
“Because it tends over time to migrate east and threatens to either become completely blocked and turn this tidal marsh into a lake or to undercut some bluffs and damage city infrastructure and private homes and things,” said Delehanty.
City officials say the project is being funded by the private property owners. No federal, state, or city money is paying for the project. Delehanty says this is not the first time the channel has been moved.
“It’s been many times since...really since statehood. So it’s a project that’s occurred regularly. It’s not a long-term solution it just buys some time, essentially. But the biologists that have evaluated it have felt that it wasn’t going to do any undue harm to the slough, and in fact, it allows that continued connectivity of the slough to the ocean, which is desirable,” said Delehanty.
He says the work should be done in a few days.
Next week the City will begin installing barriers that will limit vehicle access along the beach east of Bishops Beach.
In February, the Homer City Council passed a beach policy restricting vehicle access to certain parts of the beach.
“That’s really part of the city’s overall beach policy that was just put into ordinance passed by the city council recently. It is a culmination of a long effort we have had with the city seeking a solution for specifically the federal portion of the Beluga Slough area. We were concerned about both habitat loss and also promoting wildlife observation and pedestrian-friendly wildlife viewing opportunities in the Beluga Slough area,” said Delehanty.
The City of Homer is paying for installation of the barriers. Delehanty says the barrier installation could take a while. He also says Fish and Wildlife will be working with the city to install signage at the beach later this year. Fish and Wildlife is paying for the signs.
The City of Homer is advising people who have questions about the work to call their Public Works Department at 235-3170.
